Eyes Wide Open
by FuriousHope
Summary: With the wars over, Persephone Jackson is a little lost and needs some guidance. She isn't sure how to survive in the so called, 'normal' world and a few of the gods take the dilemma into their own hands and try to help her out. One god in particular catches her attention and she begins to realize that the gods are lost themselves. fem!Perc
1. Ghost

Chapter 1-Ghost

She had been seen as a hero, she had been seen as a murderer, and now all she was was a ghost to those who knew her best. Maybe that was for the best though, because Persephone Jackson wished for peace. After two wars, Tartarus, and having her identity taken away, she was more than aware that peace was only temporary. That was why, when Olympus had asked Camp Halfblood for a night guard, she had graciously agreed to the job.

She was to hitch a ride onto Olympus with Dionysus each evening after dinner. He grumbled that if she was even half a second late, he would leave her behind. Persephone took her job seriously and because of this, she had been the one waiting on him as he prepared himself for a long night on Olympus.

"You ready to go?" he grumbled, coming to stand beside her. His hair was slicked back and he was in a suit and tie.

"Is that what you normally wear to a party?" she frowned, turning towards him as he rolled his eyes and fixed his sleeves.

"If you must know," he drawled "I am going out with my wife, I am not going to some party for teenagers." he spat the word as if it were poison on his tongue and Percy was taken back.

"I thought you lived for the parties and the glamour." she tilted her head as she stared at him and he grumbled under his breath about irritating demigod daughters of Poseidon.

"Persia, you have so much to learn." he reached out his hand and gripped her shoulder. As she squeezed her eyes tight, she muttered

"It's Percy."

Xxx

Dionysus ditched her outside one of the main party buildings, one that Zeus apparently frequented regularly.

"You stand her and do not move, got it?" he snarled, apparently late for his date. Percy nodded, pulling her helmet on as he swiftly spun on his heel and stalked away from her.

She stood guard exactly where he had told her and it wasn't long before the party goers began showing up. Her helmet hid most of her stoic expression, but most of them still recognized her and some nodded respectfully. She just held her position, pretending not to notice as they came and went.

"Good evening." she flicked her eyes towards the voice and raised an eyebrow. Hermes stood watching her with a curious look. "I swear I saw you training today when I dropped something off for Dionysus, don't you ever sleep?"

"I sleep less than you breathe." she answered, keeping her voice monotone as she watched several minor gods approaching, their drunken stagger not at all worrying to her.

"That is impressive." Hermes stepped out of the way of the gods with a look of disgust, sitting down on the bench in front of her. "Why would you do that?"

"My mind has the terrifying capability of being dark and demented." her eyes grew shades darker as she said this and Hermes paused before answering, glancing around them.

"It is a very sad fate to be afraid of your own dreams." Hermes sighed,

"Yes, it is." she flicked her eyes to him again "Why did you look at those gods in disgust?" she knew it was a brave move, questioning a god, but she figured she'd done enough for Olympus that she could get away with the question.

"You noticed that, did you?" he grinned and leaned forward, running his hand through his hair "This whole party scene doesn't really agree with me."

"Really?" she snorted and looked back out at the path. More gods were coming, this time it was Zeus and Hera. "I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be talking to me so Olympian alert." she muttered, flicking her eyes to him. Hermes glanced behind him and stood smoothly.

"Thank you." he murmured back, nodding his head respectfully as he fixed his suit jacket and entered the building. Persephone didn't give him a second glance, just watched the two approaching as she bowed respectfully to the king and queen of the gods. Hera flowed right by her, not giving her a single glance, the way most gods had been after they had seen her standing here a few nights in a row. Now she was a normalcy to them, hardly worth noticing. Zeus slowed his walk, but didn't pause in front of her and his gaze only flicked over her once.

"Slow night." she muttered to herself as the path soon became clear. She glanced up at the stars and was greeted by the Ursa Major, "You guard the sky and I'll guard the ground, got it?" she murmured, eyes glittering lightly as she studied the constellation.

xxx

"Ready to go?" Dionysus's rough voice startled her and she spun to see him standing in the doorway, watching her.

"Yeah," as she moved, she stretched her tired, sore muscles. They were not used to holding one position for so long and she winced as they cried out in protest. Hoping Dionysus didn't notice, she frowned when he turned away from her and began walking away striding quickly down the steps.

"Where are we going?" she pulled off her helmet and jogged to keep up with him. Dionysus didn't answer, just continued forward, not giving her a single glance.

"I'm dropping you off at the elevator, Argus is supposed to meet you downstairs." He paused before drawling "That is if the Stoll brothers remember to tell Chiron."

"I'll just head home if Argus doesn't show up." she shrugged, keeping pace with the god rather easily when he finally slowed to a normal speed. They walked for several minutes through the streets, making their way quickly because of the lack of people.

"If that happens, be sure to be back here by six." he paused as they reached the elevator "Don't get yourself killed." with that, he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Persephone rolled her eyes, used to the god's shortness.

"Yeah, I'll try not to." She grinned as the elevator dinged open and then frowned. "This blasted music better not last the entire trip."


	2. Kill List

Chapter 2- Kill List

The Stoll brothers were officially on the top of her kill list. Persephone had decided that before she had even travelled five steps out of the empire state building. The camp van was nowhere in sight and she rolled her eyes, beginning the long trek to her mother's apartment. It was on the outer edges of the city, nicer than the last but they were still not rich by any means.

"Where is a lovely lady like you going on such a beautiful morning?" Persephone groaned, glaring at the man as he fell into step beside her.

"I'm not interested." she growled, speeding up. Her breath hitched when the man kept pace with her.

"You should come with me, I know just the place for a young lady such as yourself." he grabbed her arm and she swung her other arm around, punching him in the nose and quickly shaking her hand out.

"You little-" he lunged at her, holding his nose in one hand and swinging his other arm with the other. Persephone nimbly stepped out of the way.

"I said I wasn't interested." she snarled, "Now leave me alone." she spun on her heel and continued down the street, grumbling as she looked back and saw the man still following her, although this time at a distance. "Great, now I have a stalker." she rolled her eyes and turned the corner, deciding to lead the man on the chase of his lifetime. Just as she was about to jog though, a man appeared beside her.

"Good morning Persephone." his cheerful voice startled her and she paused, spinning to look at him

"Lord Hermes." she bowed to the god while keeping an eye on the guy following her. He had also paused and was now pretending to look at a newspaper. His nose had a thin stream of blood dripping from it.

"Is that man following you?" Hermes followed her gaze and watched as the man turned the page of his newspaper, glancing up at them several times as he did so.

"Yeah, I told him I wasn't interested and socked him in the nose, I digress though, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I had some free time this morning and figured I'd come down to the city for a cup of coffee, there's this place I absolutely love," he paused "Would you care to join me?"

"I better not, I don't want to give Uncle Z an aneurism." she began walking again and he surprisingly fell into stride beside her.

"No worries, he doesn't keep track of me, I'm not very important to him." he shrugged when she gave him a sorrowful look.

"Well I'm sure he keeps track of me or he has someone keeping track of me." she murmured, glancing behind her to see that the man was now heading in the opposite direction. "Thank you for the help Lord Hermes."

"Please, just Hermes." he put his hands in his pockets as if he had no care in the world "Dionysus is supposed to be keeping track of you, but" he gave her a knowing glance "We all know how that goes."

"He told me that Argus was picking me up, but that he may never have gotten the message so to just be back on Olympus by six," she paused "And 'Don't get killed'" she mocked his voice and Hermes snickered.

"Oh yeah, that sounds like him." Hermes rolled his eyes "Definitely gets to the point, doesn't care about much," he paused "Or makes it seem like he doesn't."

"True, he seems very soft hearted, just has a tough exterior." she paused "So where exactly are we going?"

"Ah, so you've decided to join me have you?" Hermes grinned as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing else to do." she paused "Do they have decaf, cus you definitely do not want to see me on caffeine." Hermes chuckled as she said this and gave her a thumbs up.

"Yes, they have a good decaf coffee." the walked a few blocks in a peaceful silence. Percy kept an eye out for danger, looking behind them often.

"You've tried it?" Percy glanced at him in surprise. Hermes shrugged his shoulders,

"A few times," he paused "Caffeine doesn't really affect me so decaf, caf, it means nothing whether I drink regular or decaf."

"So why do you drink it?" she questioned, shaking her head in confusion and looking behind them once again. "Scratch that, there's a monster following us."

"They won't attack while I'm here." he wrapped his arm around her, "Just chill, your fear scent will attract even more."

"Wonderful." she rolled her eyes, stiffening under his arm. Hermes gave her an apologetic smile,

"My scent overpowers yours, monsters won't come close." he paused and looked behind them, glaring.

"They don't really care about that." Percy grumbled, feeling for anaklusmos in her pocket. Her shoulders were still stiff and Hermes frowned at her.

"You really don't like human contact do you?" he lifted his arm from her shoulder and tugged lightly on her elbow, entering a coffee shop.

"Why do you say that?" her voice grew defensive as he strolled easily up to the counter. Hermes glanced behind him at her, lips twitching as he held up a finger for her to wait.

"I'd like two of your specialty decaf," he leaned in closer "Add a shot of nectar to both please, thank you."

"Wait," Percy glanced between the boy who took the order and Hermes. Hermes just shrugged and began walking to a booth in the corner that looked out onto the street. It was well worn, but cozy looking. Hermes went to take the seat facing the door,

"Uh, could I-" she gestured towards the seat and realization dawned in his eyes as he quickly flipped around so his back was facing the shop. Percy shot him a grateful glance as she slid into the booth, able to monitor the entire place from where she sat.

"As I said before, you really don't like human contact," he paused as she began messing with the salt shaker "I've noticed it with the demigods, you avoid contact at all costs. And then just now, you stiffened."

"Yeah," she shrugged and poured a bit of salt onto the table, brushing it together into a thin line as she did so. "I kind of have always done that." she ducked her head and focused on the salt, forming different shapes with ease. Hermes slowly reached out his hand and brushed the salt away, forcing her to look up at him.

"Why do you do that?" Hermes face was open, gentle, and sincere. Enough so that Percy leaned back in her seat and folded her arms.

"It's really common knowledge around camp anymore, I'm surprised you haven't heard it." she shrugged her shoulders "My ex step father used to beat me." Hermes stiffened when she said the words, eyes growing dark as his body tensed as if shocked. "Really, I'm over it." she shrugged again and gave him a small smile. Hermes was frozen though, staring at her.

"Here you go, two specialty decaf's." the boy from behind the counter put a drink in front of each of them and quickly walked away. The smell of the coffee seemed to shake Hermes out of his stupor cus he shook his head quickly and relaxed a little.

"Percy-" he paused, staring down at his drink for several long seconds before looking up at her "I am sorry." his voice had an edge to it that it hadn't had before.

"It's fine, really." she looked out the window and took a deep breath, "I have nightmares some nights still, but they're less and less frequent. Mostly it's just human contact anymore." she snorted "I can' believe i just told you that." she shook her head and took a drink of her coffee.

"I'm glad you did." Hermes voice was still rough and she frowned, setting her coffee down.

"Hermes, seriously, it's fine." she leaned forward and punched his shoulder "Chill, drink you coffee." she ordered.

"Right," he startled, as if noticing the coffee in front of him and took a drink. "Come on, let's go for a walk." he stood and she quickly followed, frowning.

"Don't we have to pay?"

"Nah, it's on me and they know where to charge." he pushed through the door quickly and she took another sip of her coffee as she followed. It was hot, but had a hint of blue chocolate chip cookies taste in it.

"How much of this should I drink, seeing as I'm a demigod." she was already beginning to feel the affects, energy coursing through her veins and her vision seemed heightened.

"There's not enough for it to register for long in your body so even if you were in need of nectar in, oh say, three hours, you'd be able to have what you need without thinking about this."

"Weird." she kept pace with him easily and he glanced at her

"What's weird?"

"After Tartarus, nectar and ambrosia haven't had that much of an affect on me. It's harder to heal." Hermes looked at her in surprise as she said this and she shrugged.

"That is really weird." He murmured something that she didn't catch under his breath. Then "How much ambrosia did you eat down there?" Percy shrugged and looked up at the surrounding buildings.

"Honestly we didn't have a ton of stuff when we fell, just what was on us." she paused and looked over at Hermes. There was silence for several minutes and Percy could tell he was cooking up some sort of question. They had made surprisingly good time on the streets with their faster walking speed.

"Why did you refuse to let go of Athena's daughter?" Hermes paused "You could have saved yourself a lot-"

"I know/" Percy snapped, then her face gentled "Annabeth is," she paused "Annabeth was my best friend. We were each other's mirrors. I couldn't let go of her hand because it went against everything in me." she shrugged, eyes growing dark. Hermes took several steps, rubbing his face tiredly and taking a sip of coffee.

"What happened between you two?" Hermes questioned, noticing her change in words and tone of voice.

"Her brain didn't let her comprehend Tartarus and she didn't believe what I told her." Percy paused, voice growing soft "She thinks I said things to claim fame."

"Wow." Hermes took another sip of coffee, looking over at her with shocked eyes. "You can't catch a break, can you?"

"Hades no." she snorted, then ducked her head "Sorry Hades." Hermes caught the words and smirked.

"You know your his favorite niece right?" Hermes grinned when her sorrowful look exchanged for a shocked one.

"Uh, what?" She blinked several times, pausing mid step to turn towards him, Hermes was still grinning, but now it was wider.

"Yeah! Pretty awesome," he paused "Hey, where we heading anyways?" Hermes frowned, suddenly unfamiliar with the area. Percy rolled her eyes.

"We're near my mom's apartment." she took a sip of her coffee and he gave her a sideways look.

"I knew you grew up in New York, but I had no idea you still lived here, isn't it kind of dangerous?"

"Yeah, it's extremely dangerous." Percy shrugged "That's why I keep my visits short. I don't want to attract unwanted attention." she looked longingly ahead of them and Hermes paused.

"You should go see her." he noticed her stiffen slightly and decided not to continue, instead watching her carefully.

"I haven't visited since before-" her voice cracked and she cut off. Closing her eyes momentarily. "I don't know how to explain." she paused "I've iris messaged her, but-"

"Come on, we'll go together." he touched her shoulder lightly and was surprised to see that she didn't stiffen this time. She looked down the street, back where they had come from.

"I guess I have to go at some point." she paused "I'm just afraid of the fear I'll see."

"I know, that's why I'm going to come with you." they began walking again and there was silence for several more minutes as she led him to a nicer apartment building in an older part of the city.

"Come on, it's on the third floor." she led him through the door and up several flights of stairs. They entered a nice, carpeted hallway and she paused before one of the doors. Hermes watched her for several seconds as she just stared at it.

"Are you going to knock?" his voice must have been louder than he thought, because the door flung open and Percy was enveloped into the tight, loving hug that only a mother could give. Percy held her in an equally tight hug, burying her face into her mother's shoulder. Hermes stood off to the side, watching them for a moment before he noticed a man standing inside.

"You must be Paul Blofis." Hermes stepped around the reunion and into the apartment to shake hands with the man.

"Yes, and you are?" He was sizing Hermes up, but the god didn't mind, instead glancing back at Percy.

"Hermes, son of Maia." Percy opened her eyes to look at him when he used his mother's name instead of his father's, startled.

"Oh!" Sally finally let go of Percy, pulling her into the apartment and shutting the door behind him "It is nice to meet you, my lord." she began to bow, but Hermes put out a hand to stop her.

"Please, no bowing." his voice was soft and Percy could tell he was uncomfortable.

"I'm sure you have stuff to do, you can go if you need to." she hinted, watching as he glanced around the room. Instead of answering, he wandered over to a few picture frames and picked one up.

"Is this you as a kid?" he pointed to the little girl in the picture. She was in a dance costume, a grin stretched wide across her face. Percy smiled softly. It was one of the good lapses in time that she had had in her childhood.

"Yes, that's her." Sally smiled, walking over. "She was five in that picture and was so excited about her dance recital. She must have rehearsed every minute of every day when she heard she had a solo-" she went on for several more minutes and Percy turned towards Paul

"I'm sorry I disappeared for such a long time-" she paused, not sure what her mom had told him. Paul reached forward and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm just glad your alive and okay." he pulled back to look her in the eye "You are okay, right?"

"Yeah," she paused, glancing over at Hermes and her mom "I mean, some days are harder than others, but I'm surviving."

"You take your time okay, don't be signing up for any more wild quests for a while." he smiled softly at her and Percy nodded.

"I've got a different job now, guarding Olympus at night." her lips twitched and her mom turned towards her.

"That must be a tough job." she countered, watching her daughter carefully before sending an accusatory glance towards Hermes.

"Not as hard as some of the jobs I've had." she fingered the coffee still in her hands and Sally noticed it.

"That better not have had caffeine." she warned, but her eyes were light and laughing. Percy grinned at her,

"I've learned my lesson, don't worry." she paused "Come on, I'm sure you have plenty more stories to tell," she turned towards Hermes "And you haven't tried blue chocolate chip cookies until you try my mother's." she pulled him into the kitchen, going on and on about how delicious they were as Paul pulled Sally against him and they followed the two into the kitchen.


	3. Her Eyes

Chapter 3-

"May I speak to you a moment?" Sally motioned to Hermes as he was putting his shoes back on. Percy had run into her room. Hermes looked up at her and she glanced behind her to make sure Percy wasn't around "What's your aim with her?"

"I don't have an aim, I just want her to be safe and I know most demigods don't get happy endings." his eyes grew dark as he said this and she realized he had experienced a recent loss "She is falling and she so desperately needs someone to pull her back up."

"Thank you." the words were whispered, but gratitude shone bright in Sally's eyes "for not being like the others."

"It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Blofis." he bowed his head respectfully as Percy came back into the entryway.

"Alright, I'm ready." it was nearing one in the afternoon and she needed to go to camp to train. "Bye mom, I'll see you soon." she quickly hugged her mom and Hermes opened the door, nodding his head towards Paul and letting Percy go through first.

Once they were outside the building, Percy quickly turned towards him "I'm sorry, you really didn't need to stay."

"I know," he paused "I wanted to though." Percy stared at him with confused eyes as he said this, then realized she was staring and ducked her head.

"Well, thank you." they walked to the end of the building before pausing again. Hermes held out his arm in a silent invitation and Percy took it, knowing where they were going. She was almost sad that the morning was ending and she had to return back to her normal, demigod life.

When she touched his arm, the tall buildings surrounding them disappeared and they reappeared on the camp hill, beside Peleus.

"Good afternoon Peleus." Percy stroked his nose affectionately before turning back towards Hermes. The dragon grumbled softly at the god and Hermes backed away a few steps, giving him his space.

"Thank you for allowing me to spend time with you and your family this morning, Persephone Jackson." Hermes' voice was quiet and Percy nodded at him.

"Thank you for showing me that gods can act mortal." she paused and gave him one of her trademark, sarcastic smiles, "I'll see you around Lord Hermes, I am the guardian of Olympus, after all." she turned away from him and the barrier rippled around her as she entered camp, sprinting down the hill, towards a few boys who were practicing their sword fighting skills.

It was then that Hermes figured out what was different about Persephone. It was her eyes; their coloring had changed from the hazy light green of a bright day on the ocean, to a fiercer, darker coloring. They were like a storm brewing on the horizon, the ones that captains fear, because they'll drag your ship to the bottom of the ocean. Hermes shuddered, knowing tartarus had done that to her.

Xxx

"Hello boys." Percy grinned devilishly as she stopped in front of Jason and Nico. The two had been poorly attempting one of her trademark moves and she wanted to know why.

"My dear, beautiful cousin," Jason bowed dramatically "to what do we owe the pleasure?"

"You boys ruin a perfectly good move by adding shit to it." she crossed her arms, tilting her head back and giving them a look that said they were completely incompetent.

"Why don't you show us how it's done then, sweetheart." Percy raised an eyebrow as she rolled her head towards the voice and found Will grinning at her. He wrapped his arm around Nico's waist and Percy smirked at them

"About time." she pulled her sword out of her pocket and twirled it, pen form, between her fingers, studying the three boys. "What are you hiding?"

"What?" Will gave her an innocent look as Jason came up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders "How could you ever assume we were hiding something." Nico gave it away by snorting at his boyfriend's words.

"Jason," She turned her gaze towards him, eyes growing dark as she saw the look he was giving her "Tell me what's going on."

"The gods are apparently coming down for a visit today," Jason paused "We are to be on our best behavior."

"Oh wonderful, because I didn't already spend enough time with them." she rolled her eyes and pushed anaklusmos into her back pocket.

"You are going to get killed for that mouth one of these days." Jason grumbled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they exited the small clearing and entered the camp, where afternoon classes were just getting under way.

"Persephone!" Chiron's voice rang out and she sighed, rolling her eyes as Jason chuckled

"Have fun! I'm teaching self defense today," he grinned when she sent him a jealous look "Should have signed up before me, that's all I can say." he shrugged and jogged away towards the beach, where he was teaching his class.

"Hello Chiron." she turned back just in time to greet her mentor respectfully. The centaur motioned for her to walk next to him as he strode towards the big house.

"I'm sure by now your friends have already told you the gods are down here visiting," he paused as she raised an eyebrow

"I didn't know they were here now." she sent him a questioning glance and he shrugged

"They just arrived and I need you to take a few of them around on a tour, it's mainly just the council here today."

"Oh wonderful, so just most of the ones who want me dead." her voice held a sarcastic edge and Chiron grabbed her shoulder, letting go quickly when she flinched, eyes darkening.

"Persephone, please." he murmured "They are taking this a step in the right direction, please do not ruin it for the younger ones, the ones to come after you."

"I'm working on us not needing any greats after me," she paused, knowing it sounded selfish. "I'm not great anything, I just-"

"I get it." Chiron sighed and they walked in silence, reaching the Big House quickly. Percy turned towards him and he shrugged at the eerie silence.

"Here goes nothing," she sent him her trademark smirk of a grin and he cantered off towards the students milling about, waiting for their archery lesson.

"Alright, who am I giving a tour too?" she shoved through the door, seeing the olympian council milling about. She avoided Hermes, who was sending her a questioning look.

"Good morning Persephone Jackson." Hera turned towards her with a smile and she gave her a quick, respectful head nod. The queen of the gods frowned at it though.

"Mr. D?" Percy watched him with a questioning gaze on her face as he took a long drink of diet coke.

"You're taking whoever is interested." he muttered after a second, turning away from her "The others are going to the roman camp."

"Cool cool." she turned back to the council, arms folded and raised an eyebrow at them. "So my lords and ladies, who is going with me today?" it took several seconds before Artemis finally stepped forward.

"I would love to talk to you about some stuff today." She grinned at the demigod and Percy sent hera respectful smile back. Apollo stepped up beside his sister and gave Percy his most charming grin, to which she rolled her eyes.

Poseidon, Zeus, and Hermes also stepped forward. Percy studied each of them in turn and Hermes tilted his head, studying her right back.

"Well, we should get started." she spun on her heel and walked out motioning for them to follow her.

"So where are we going?" Apollo skipped up to walk next to her and Percy glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Where do you want to go?" she turned back to the gods, raising an eyebrow when she realized they were extremely close to her. "Wow you guys are clingy." she mumbled under her breath. Artemis' eyes were dancing and Percy knew she hadn't been quite quiet enough.

"What was that Miss Jackson?" Zeus asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"I was just wondering where you guys wanted to go." she raised an eyebrow expectantly, but they were interrupted by Apollo groaning.

"Oh no! They're doing it all wrong!" Apollo began striding away towards where several demigods were failing horribly at archery.

"I better go make sure he doesn't flirt with anyone." Artemis sighed and followed her brother before pausing "I do want to talk to you though, you'll be on Olympus tonight right? Come to my temple tomorrow morning."

"Alright." she nodded, turning back to her three 'tourists'. "So, what do you guys want to see?" Hermes was on the phone so he just gave her a polite nod and turned away. Zeus was staring off towards the beach and Percy turned to see Jason showing off his skills. "You know you can talk to him right? It's not like you'll suddenly become powerless because you talk to a mere mortal." Poseidon coughed warningly as she stated this, but Zeus just glanced at her with a knowing look.

"Thank you." he nodded politely at her, surprising Percy and walked away. Hermes had glanced towards him, then at Percy questioningly, but he was still on the phone so Percy just shook her head.

"Why don't you show me your favorite place." Poseidon smiled encouragingly and Percy looked towards where Zeus was striding towards.

"Well that would be the beach, but I'm currently at odds with a few demigods over there." she shrugged "So sword fighting arena it is." she waved her hand, catching Hermes attention and then started towards the arena.

"How have you been?" Poseidon questioned as they walked, striding next to her easily. Percy shrugged, not caring to answer verbally. "A verbal answer please."

"I've been okay, some days are better than others, nights are eh." he gave her a worried glance and she shrugged.

"That's why i took the job, can't sleep anyways so why not do something worthwhile." she turned to make sure Hermes was still following, before she continued "I'm getting better though, I saw mom today."

"Was that the first time since-"

"Yeah, it was." she paused "Hermes actually took me to see her before he dropped me off at camp."

"Really?" Poseidon glanced behind him at Hermes and sent him a thankful look. Of course Hermes didn't know what it was for, so he sent Percy a questioning one.

"Yep! Here we are." they entered the arena and she saw Will and Nico were practicing with daggers and whistled. "Hello again boys."

"Percy!" Will grinned and threw his daggers down on one of the benches, approaching them. "Lord Poseidon, Lord Hermes." he went to bow, but Poseidon waved it away. Nico was slower to approach, bowing his head respectfully.

"Hey Seph." Nico wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned in close "little warning woulda been nice." he grinned as he murmured it, pulling away. "Wanna dance?" he twirled the daggers in his hands and backed away with a glint in his eyes.

"I can't, sorry." she shrugged, but Poseidon looked thoughtful.

"Go ahead, I'd like to see you fight in a controlled environment," Poseidon backed away, sitting down on one of the benches and Hermes joined him, finally hanging up the phone with a distant look in his gaze.

"Two on one then, give me something challenging." she sent the two demigods in front of her a laughing glance and Will groaned.

"Last time i fought you, i couldn't walk straight for a week." he slowly walked towards the table and Percy sent him a patronizing glance.

"Are you afraid?" her voice grew quiet and Nico raised an eyebrow as Will turned back towards them.

"Yes and rightfully so." Will now had his daggers in his hands and Percy pulled anaklusmos out of her pocket, twirling it between her fingers with fire lit in her eyes.

"Let's dance daughter of Poseidon." he grinned as Nico lunged at her from the side. She side danced away and then Will lunged at her.

"That was incredible, you were truly playing with them that entire time!" Poseidon had a laughing gleam in his eyes as Percy drank a bottle of water. Will and Nico had both gone back to their cabins to shower and Hermes had left to deliver something to Hades at the Roman camp.

"Yeah," she laughed nervously as they made their way out of the arena. "I've outgrown this place." she shrugged and looked around "But I have fun here, something that doesn't happen out in the real world."

"You were really good out there today Persephone and it made me realize you aren't," he paused "You aren't a little kid anymore and I'm sorry I was never there for you."

"It's okay, I know the laws." she looked over where Apollo was laughing with his kids, they had a gleam in their eyes, like their dreams were coming true and they couldn't quite believe it.

"Percy!" Jason grinned as he ran up behind her and spun her in circles "Hello my dear cousin." his eyes were almost manic when he set her down and Percy rolled her eyes.

"It's nice that you two get along." Zeus came up beside his brother, watching as Jason drummed his fingers on Percy's shoulders.

"Of course we do." Jason rolled up on the balls of his feet, grinning "Perc is like my little sister."

"Hey!" Percy snarled, but her eyes were bright. Poseidon and Zeus glanced at each other in surprise at the two's interaction.

"How much time do you guys spend together?" Zeus asked as the demigods began walking again, arms wrapped around each other.

"Well," Percy let go of Jason and he shoved her face away from him playfully before jogging off towards "I can't sleep at night, so we have a lot of movie nights."

"What movies do you guys watch?" Poseidon asked. The two gods were on either side of her, but it wasn't uneasy like she had expected it to be.

"I choose The Little Mermaid, he chooses Hercules." she paused "Every time." she grinned. "We watch both. Disney versions of course." she gave them a serious look and continued onwards. The gods followed close behind, discussing something too quietly for her to hear.

"Hey!" Dionysus caught her attention with a wave, nodding his respect towards the gods behind her as he did so "Guard duty on Olympus starts in half an hour, go eat."


	4. Smart Man

Chapter Four

"Hello Hermes." Percy knew it was him, even though she hadn't turned to look. She was on Montauk beach, staring out at the ocean, but not touching the water. She had swam all the way here, so of course her father knew she was here, but she pretended he didn't

"Good evening Persephone." he sat down beside her in the sane and dug his fingers into it, letting it sit through his fingers slowly.

"Breaking the laws again?" she sent him a wry smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Instead, exhaustion hung there.

"Of course." he sucked in a deep breath "Why are you here? You should be sleeping."

"No kidding." she leaned her forehead against her knees for a moment, before lifting her head up to look at him "Nightmares, I can't even close my eyes, they're so close."

"So you came to an abandoned beach." he nodded like it made total sense, but Percy shrugged

"I don't like being around the others when I feel like this, I feel I drag them down too much." she sighed, staring longingly out at the water.

"Oh Percy." Hermes sighed as well before opening his arms wide "Come here." Percy looked at him for a moment before shifting so he could wrap his arms around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head. "It's going to get better, okay?"

"In all honesty, I'm so far past freak out mode." she pulled away slightly and Hermes frowned "I'm beyond stress, beyond hysteria, I'm in that grey misty indifference that happens right before complete shutdown of all but emergency services in my brain." her eyes were a misty sea green, like the calm before the hurricane, where the clouds are rolling in and you can just see the rain line coming in.

"Come on," he stood, brushing himself off, and holding out a hand for her to take "We are going for a walk."

"No offense Hermes but I'm not sure how much farther my legs can travel." he frowned but didn't comment on her statement.

"You won't have to walk." he quickly pulled her to her feet and bent down with his back facing her "hop on."

"Seriously?" she looked at him like he was crazy, but he didn't answer, so she shrugged and hopped onto his back.

"Where we going?" she questioned as he set off towards the lighthouse in the distance.

"I have no idea but we are going." Hermes answered.

Xxx

They'd been playing twenty questions for the past two hours, lying on a rocky outcrop and listening to the waves crash below them. Every once and a while, a salty spray would hit them, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"I should take you back to camp." Hermes stated after several minutes of silence. Slowly, he began to sit up, waiting for her answer.

"I wouldn't mind a bit of sleep." she answered wryly, throwing him a small grin as she sat up as well, slowly at first then throwing herself into standing position.

"Thanks Hermes." she held out a hand to help him to his feet and he took it, frowning at the sudden submissiveness about her.

"It's no problem honestly, I needed a break." he paused "We should do stuff more often."

"Yeah?" she sent him a questioning look and he ducked his head, "Yeah we should." Hermes glanced over at her with a small smile

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad-"

"If it involves me, then it's going to be a twenty." she answered quickly, watching a slight frown form on his face.

"You didn't even let me finish the question!" he was mock angry and she could see laughter in his eyes.

"Yes but it more then likely involves me and seeing as it does," she gave him a knowing look "It's a twenty."

"I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!" he was trying to hide his grin and Percy nudged him in the ribs, forcing a small laugh from him

"And I'm trying to subtly avoid it, so let me have my twenty." she grinned at him for a moment before realized their close proximity and stepping away, suddenly uncomfortable. "You were going to ask how bad it will be if my uncle finds out."

"Yes, I was."

"Then I have a question for you," she folded her arms "Do you trust me?"

"No, not completely."

"Smart man," she rolled her eyes "For this, I need you to trust me though, okay?" she gave him a pleading look and saw his resolve crumble.

"Fine." he sucked in a breath and she gave him a mock look of surprise before grinning. In reply, he held out his arm for her to take. "Let's get you back to camp oh princess of the sea."


	5. SPQR Tattoo

Chapter five

Percy could feel the knife's cold edge less than a hair's breadth from her throat. She swallowed, unwilling to let fear get ahold of her as she listened to her attacker steady breaths. He thought she was still asleep, good.

"I'm trying to be polite, but if you move that knife a centimeter closer, I will tear you apart with my bare hands." her voice hedl an edge to it that made most people pause. Luckily, the edge worked on this one as well.

"You're slacking in the self defense department." Percy grinned when the knife disappeared and Reyna spoke with a dignified expression.

"Well if the gods aren't working me so damn hard then maybe I'd have time to practice." Percy opened her eyes and swing up into a sitting position, clasping her friends forearm and pulling her into a hug. Reyna was somewhat reluctant at first, but gave in.

"So what brings you to camp half blood." Percy stood as Reyna backed away, stretching slowly and looking outside. It was light out, which was a good sign.

"I iris messaged you this morning." Reyna didn't smile and Percy stiffened, walking out onto the dock with a voided expression.

"Ah, I didn't receive it, was I busy?" Percy folded her arms, standing at the edge of the dock as it bounced beneath her. Reyna didn't dare step onto it, instead leaning against one of the cabin's back pillars and watching the girl.

"I know you are going to take this the wrong way, but I have to say it anyway." she paused, sucking in a deep breath "You're making a grave mistake."

"Is it any graver than every other mistake I have made?" Percy finally turned towards her and saw the fear etched in her friend's eyes.

"Please, talk to me." Reyna whispered, stepping forward, one small, meager step. Percy sighed, running her hand through her hair nervously several times.

"Fine, but not here, I don't want someone to overhear. We can take the pegasi to the city, okay?" Percy watched Reyna struggle for several seconds with the notion, before shaking her head.

"No, I don't have time for that." Percy walked slowly back to her and Reyna put her hand on Percy's shoulder before cupping her cheek and forcing her to look her in the eye. "Please be careful, my friend." Reyna's voice was soft and Percy bowed her head

"I'm trying." she lifted her eyes and Reyna gasped softly at the pain that flickered through Percy's expression before the old barrier was put back up.

"I know and you are so, so strong. Come, walk me back to the pegasi stables and talk to me about everything I've been missing out on!" in less then a second, ehr voice changed as she wrapped her arm around Percy's shoulders and they entered the cabin and exited out the front door. "How is Jason?"

"Oh, you know." Percy shrugged and gave her a knowing smile "utterly obsessed with Piper, as always."

"Who's obsessed with me?" Piper grinned as the two girls turned towards her, "I thought that was you who went into Cabin three."

"Reyna!" Percy suddenly spun towards her with almost horrified eyes. Both Piper and Reyna jumped, immediately touching her arm as if to calm her "I need you to add another line to my tattoo."

"Now?" Piper looked at her with confusion, but Reyna began to glance around camp, looking for something.

"Alright, we have a bit of time, I can do it now, come on." he grabbed Percy's hand and began dragging her towards a fire that Hestia was tending.

"Lady Hestia, could you please provide us with a thin, straight rod?" Percy's voice was steady, but her hand shook. Piper grabbed it in hers and after an initial stiffening, Percy relaxed.

"Preferably made out of metal, we need to add another bar to Percy's tattoo." Reyna bowed her head to the understanding lit up in Hestia's eyes and the goddess quickly flashed away.

"I wish we had music." Percy sat down next to the hearth and Reyna laughed, sitting down next to her while Piper watched with a weird expression.

"I think you're very close to a psychotic break Persephone Jackson." Piper stated calmly, rolling her eyes before she walked away. Percy raised her eyebrow and looked over at Reyna.

"You want to know a secret?" Percy stage whispered "I think I am too." She faked a crazed look and Reyna chuckled, shaking her head as she looked out across the camp.

"I've missed you Percy." Reyna murmured, looking over at her friend "But something is different about you and I can't lay a finger on it."

"I've missed you too Reyna." Percy shook her hair out of its ponytail, letting it flow down her back like an oil spill before running her hand through it several times. "My hair is getting too long." she pouted

"I could cut it for you." Reyna gave her a look that said it would be with a weapon, not scissors.

"I think I'll have Piper do it later." Percy pulled her hair back up just in time for Hestia to appear.

"Is this what you were looking for ladies?" she held up a iron rod that had been used hundreds of times before to tattoo demigods in the roman camp.

"Oh my gods thank you so much Hestia." Percy jumped up and wrapped the goddess in a hug before handing the rod to Reyna "Do your magic." she bounced on her toes and the goddess watched as Reyna set part of the rod in the fire.

"Persephone, I would recommend a cleaner environment for this," Hestia started, looking at the demigod with worry.

"Don't worry, I'm a demigod daughter of Poseidon, it's extremely hard for me to have wounds that get infected." they stood in silence for several moments before Reyna grabbed the very end of the rod and motioned to Percy.

Percy held out her arm and Reyna quickly pressed the red hot iron to her skin. Hestia winced and looked away and Reyna looked grim, but Percy barely flinched, instead closing her eyes and drawing in a deep breath.

"Thank you Reyna." Percy softly replied, sighing as her entire arm shivered in involuntary contractions and her skin bubbled up red and blistered. Her voice was a little higher than usual, eyes a little paler, but besides that she didn't show any signs of being in pain.

"No problem, you should go get that wrapped by one of Apollo's children." Reyna was still breathing lightly, staring anywhere but at Percy. Hestia was watching both of them worriedly.

"Yeah, I'll go do that." Percy answered distractedly. "Will you be okay Reyna?"  
"Of course!" Reyna jerked her head up and gave her a soft smile, which was returned by Percy before Percy walked off quickly.

"I've never had a demigod not even flinch to that." Reyna spun towards Hestia, horror in her eyes "Lady Hestia, with all due respect you need to tell someone about her behavior here."

"I know," The goddess looked at her "I've been watching her carefully the last few months and I've seen a decline. I'll be sure to bring it up in the meeting tomorrow."

"Thank you my lady." Reyna bowed deeply before walking away, heading towards the chestnut pegasus she had ridden here.


	6. Wasted Youth

Chapter Six

"Why do you have a bandage on your arm?" Apollo's voice startled her and she jumped, glancing to her right to find him watching her.

"Got my second bar on the SPQR tattoo today." she muttered, bowing her head respectfully as he approached and stood in front of her.

"Do you mind if I look at it?" Apollo glanced around as he did so, but there was no one around. It was a quiet night on Olympus with almost everyone asleep, very different from her previous nights guarding.

"I'm working right now lord Apollo, maybe another time?" she questioned, watching the pathway cautiously and avoiding his gaze.

"Well technically you are working for me, so I won't let you get in trouble for stepping aside for a moment." he winked at her and she sighed, holding out her arm so he could peel the bandage away.

"That looks extremely painful." he murmured, glancing up at her face as he shined a light on the burn.

"A bit I guess," she tried to shrug, but flinched when he pressed a light finger to the wound.

"Persephone Jackson." he chuckled lightly, shaking his head as he backed away and sat down on the bench across from her "You cannot hide pain from me, I am the god of medicine. I can sense your pain." he paused as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"So can you sense mental pain?" she questioned lightly, not looking at him as she studied the stairway.

"Of course." he murmured "We wasted your youth by forcing you to grow up." he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "And you pretend life doesn't terrify you, but it does. It scares the living shit out of you and you have no idea what to do because nobody has ever taught you how to live. They've only taught you how to survive."

"Wow, that was quite eloquent lord Apollo." she gave him a soft smile "And extremely, extremely true. Terrifyingly enough."

"I have a question for you though, Persephone Jackson." he stood, brushing off his pants even though he had only been sitting for a minute

"Shoot." she raised an eyebrow, waiting for another grand speech, but he stepped forward, leaning in so he could whisper in her ear

"Are you the fire or just another flame?" his eyes were wild as he turned and walked away, whistling a merry tune.

"I'm the fire." she stepped forward out of the shadow and Apollo turned around, ending his whistling as he studied her. "And I can be fucking poetic too."

"Oh really?" he sent her a challenging look and she sucked in a deep breathe

"Sometimes young minds overflow with the chaos I create. They're told to be bold but to stand in formation. They're taught how to fight, but not how to be brave. They're not taught how to stand down from a fight and save a life." she watched as he slowly strolled back towards her

"Tell me more." he crossed his arms and she copied his stance

"You don't own me, you never did and you never will. You are but the players of a chess game and I thought I was the chess piece, but I'm not, I'm the fucking board. The board you guys have to play upon day after day after day and it is sad that none of you realize that the board could overthrow you, but doesn't, because the board knows that the game you play day after day after day is the only thing keeping you alive." she stepped forward, tilting up on her toes as she neared him. "Let me ask you this, oh god of medicine, oh olympian," she paused again and looked directly into his eyes, less then "Why do you continue to play the game when you were made to thrive?" she was an inch away from his face and Apollo's eyes answered her questions. The shock outlaid within them as he stepped back quickly, but Persephone stepped forward again "Don't tell me what I am, because I know what I am better than you know what you are."

"See, that is what I am talking about." a slow grin crept onto his face as he stepped forward "Goodnight Persephone Jackson, I'll talk to you some more some other time."


	7. Five Freaking Minutes

Chapter Seven

"Good morning." Percy took a stuttered step in surprise as Zeus came out of the throne room doors behind her.

"Good morning, my lord." she turned towards him, ready to bow, but he waved her off

"No need, I just wanted to ask if there were any disturbances last night?" when he asked this, she almost told him about Apollo, but didn't. He hadn't really bothered her at all, in fact she had thought about what they had both said.

"Nothing to report this morning, sir." she paused "it was a quiet night."

"Good, good." he paused and turned to go back in the throne room "We are having a meeting today with a few demigods from camp half blood, will you be there?"

"Probably not seeing as this is the first time I've heard of said meeting." he raised an eyebrow as she said this and tapped his chin.

"Ah, maybe I forgot to ask Dionysus to ask you." he paused "Well, you're welcome to hang out in the throne room until the meeting, it's in an hour."

"I will come in when Dionysus releases me." she bowed her head and he frowned at her

"You're released, follow me." she starred in surprise before following the king of the gods. He had never been this casual with her before and it was kind of scary.

"Good morning!" Percy rolled her eyes as Apollo skipped up to her "How are you on this amazingly fine morning?"

"I'm fine my lord, and you?" Apollo frowned as she called him my lord but didn't miss a beat.

"I am wonderful! The sun is shining, there's not a cloud in the sky! It's going to be a beautiful day." he wrapped his arm around Percy as they followed Zeus, ignoring the stiffening of her shoulders.

"Get your arm off my shoulders or I will rip it off and smack you with it." Her voice was a low snarl and Zeus spun to stare at them. Apollo slowly lifted his arm and backed away with his arms raised innocently. "Thank you." she let out a shuddering breath and the two gods jumped.

"You can't stay out of trouble for five freaking minutes?" Dionysus glared at her as he stepped out of a room and glared at her until she averted her eyes, mumbling something under her breath "What was that?" he snapped

"Take it easy Dionysus, no harm was done." Apollo's voice was cheery as he clapped the god of wine on the back and entered the room. Zeus was still studying Persephone and Dionysus had barely contained fire in his eyes.

"Dionysus, back down." Zeus shook the surprise from his eyes "Persephone, do you want breakfast?" he beckoned for the demigod, entering the room, Percy kept her eyes down, skirting Dionysus and entering the room in a submissive manner.

"Why do you have a bandage on your arm?" Poseidon's voice made her jump and she glanced up in surprise. He was sitting at the table, eating with several other of the Olympians.

"Uh, I got my second year mark." she tipped up on the balls of her feet and bounced uneasily, looking around as she stationed herself near the wall.

"You can sit and eat, it's why I invited you in here." Zeus was now sitting in a chair at the head of the table, gesturing towards the empty seats.

"Don't bother, I don't know the last time I saw that girl eat something solid." Dionysus walked back in, glaring at the demigod who glared right back.

"I ate last night, you just weren't there." she rolled her eyes, sitting down as Dionysus rolled his eyes.

"Right." he paused, sitting down next to her. "So onto the next subject," Dionysus paused as he glanced at Zeus

"Let's not discuss that here." Percy interupted, giving the god a pointed look, which he returned tenfold. "Or we can and you wake up to a box with a pleasant little note," she watched as his face paled and he turned towards his plate. "That's what I thought."

"Could you please refrain from threatening the gods while you are here Persephone." Zeus's voice was bland, as if he actually didn't care whether she threatened anyone or not.

"Only if they stop threatening me." she smiled sweetly and leaned back in her chair as Dionysus groaned

"I should have left you with the amazonians." he rolled his eyes as she turned her face towards him very slowly

"They even were going to let me bring Jason along." Zeus spewed coffee everywhere as he stared at her in horror and Poseidon froze. "So sad." she shook her head lightly

"Please tell me you're joking." Poseidon's voice was a hoarse whisper as he stared at her, eyes swirling.

"If it's Percy then she definitely is not joking," Jason walked into the room with bright eyes "What are we talking about?"

"The time that I got an offer to be a amazonian and you could've been my concubine." she grinned as he blinked once in hestated surprise

"Ah, yes. Good times, good times." he paused as if noticing the gods in the room "My lords and ladies." he bowed deeply before seating himself on the other side of Dionysus.

"Please tell me you two aren't together." Percy and Jason turned towards the lord of the sky with innocent expressions.

"He's my concubine so no, we are not together, he's just a slave."

"No, they're not together in any way, shape, or form." Dionysus slammed his hand on the table, causing both Jason and Percy to jump.

"How would you know?" Percy gave hima patronizing look and Dionysus sucked in a deep breath.

"I know because I'm your babysitter and I know everything about everyone in camp."

"Creepy." Percy commented, shifting her gaze around the room, knowing Dionysus was extremely irritated with her.

"Good morning." Artemis walked into the room cheerfully, before frowning at the two demigods. "What are they doing here?"

"Apparently a meeting." Percy tilted her chair back and Dionysus slammed his hand into the arm rest, pushing it back into normal position.

"I swear demigod, if you do not sit still, I will-" Percy tilted her chair back again and gave him a challenging look.

"You'll what?" she whispered, eyes darkening. Surprisingly, Dionysus turned away from her and towards Apollo, picking up a conversation with the god easily and pretending she didn't exist.

"Playing a dangerous game there Perc." Jason's voice was soft as he leaned back in his chai to give her a look behind Dionysus's back. She shrugged and pulled anaklusmos out, twirling the pen easily in her fingers as she stared off at the wall opposite of them, not noticing that many of the gods were watching her with uneasy glances.

Finally the rest of the Olympians showed up and the meeting was started, but Percy still stared at the opposite wall absentmindedly, even though Jason told them it was normal of her to pretend she wasn't paying attention.

The gods were discussing a battle plan for a huge number of monsters that were camping out along the coast. They were far enough from the ocean that Poseidon couldn't cause a hurricane without huge cause for concern for human life.

"It's not going to work." Percy's voice was soft and she was still absently twirling the pen, but now her eyes were focused with deadly accuracy on the plans that were laid out on the table. Her voice shut everyone in the room up, shocked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're asking way too much out of inexperienced demigods. We lost too many of the actually experienced in the last war, you'll be sending them on a suicide mission that will only prove as practice for the monsters."

"There's losses in every battle, especially one this size. They're just demigods." ares voice was nonchalant, but both Jason and Percy snarled at him, Percy flinging herself upward as every drink in the room froze.

"We are not risking the younger demigods." she looked each god in the eye as she did so. Hermes seemed to be telling her to calm down, but she couldn't, her blood was boiling.

"It is the only thing we can do!" Athena stood "You would do well to back down demigod, you have no place at this table, you were brought only as a courtesy."

"And I am telling you as a courtesy from me that you will be making a grave mistake if you send those demigods into this." Percy threatened

"Are you threatening me?" everyone was on their seats edge, ready to step in if needed. Athena's voice was tight.

"I don't know, am I?" Percy's voice was sweet, too sweet and surprisingly Ares lunged at her from across the table, slamming her into the wall and consecutively punching her face five times. He raised his arm to punch her a sixth time and she grinned at him, blood covering her teeth.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" she whispered, lowering her eyes. Ares stiffened suddenly, noticing the knife pressed against his groin "Eternity is a long time to be without your precious parts." she tilted her head, eyes narrowed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw several of the goddesses tryin to hide their smiles, including Aphrodite surprisingly.

"Bitch." he shoved away from her and stalked back around the table, nostrils flared in anger. Percy tipped her chair back up with her foot before sitting down in it, legs crossed nonchalantly as Dionysus handed her a towel.

"Do you need medical treatment?" Zeus's voice was cautious and she glanced over at him, pulling the towel away from her face to look at the blood

"No, I'll be good in a few hours." she glanced at Jason as she said this, a warning look in her eyes as he opened his mouth to say something.

"I have to say, that was impressive." Artemis surprised Percy by complimenting her and she ducked her head.

"I agree, I didn't realize you had that sort of," Apollo paused "fire in you." his eyes were lit up in a challenge that she dutifully ignored.

"Alright, spit it out. What's the grand plan you've been scheming in your brain for this entire meeting?" Dionysus drawled out, leaning back in his chair and gesturing towards the map.

Percy stood, setting the towel down as she did so.

"With your plan, they're going to box you in and some demigods could handle being boxed in, but not the ones you planned on sending." she started drawing lines with her pen, much to the surprise of several gods.

"So what you should do is drop either Jason and I or Nico and I here," Jason stood up and rounded the table to stand beside her, watching the lines she was drawing with interest. "What you can do is drop a few demigods here, the most experienced ones," she sent Dionysus a warning look but he was also intrigued in the plan.

"And then we'd push them up onto their blades." Jason finished, making sense of the lines.

"Exactly, they are blocked in on two sides so unless they can all fly, they would be able to come towards us or the other demigods," she paused "We should probably have Nico on the other side to hide the demigods so they can add another surprise attack. And you could fly us in." she twirled the pen, sitting back down as Jason studied the map for a few more seconds.

"I like the plan." he nodded, going back to his seat.

"Are you sure you can handle that?" Poseidon's voice was worried, rightfully so. The army was large.

"I faced an army three times this size alone and without most of my powers in Tartarus," she paused "I know I can." she gave him a certain look and he ran a hand through his hair, obviously still worried.

"And what if you're captured?" Zeus was staring at his son as he said this and Percy shrugged

"Jason can fly out if we get into a situation such as that and I'll take the fall," she paused "I've been tortured before and I'm not going to give away any valuable information. They'll be distracted by me and the demigods can sneak up on them."

"And if they force you to speak, what will you say?" Ares questioned,

"Hypothetically, if they did force me to speak, which they won't; I would say that a bunch of assholes in the sky put me up to it." there were several chokes throughout the room and Dionysus slowly turned towards her with a look of horror while Jason slammed his forehead into the table, groaning.

"You insolent little-" Ares stood to lunge at her again, but this time it was Artemis who held a knife to him.

"Sit down." Artemis's voice was tight. Poseidon had his face in his hands while both Apollo and Hermes were shaking with barely suppressed laughter.

"Sounds like a good plan." Hades spoke up for the first time in the meeting and surprisingly, the gods, minus Ares, nodded in agreement.

"Maybe leave out the assholes in the sky part and just not talk." Zeus gave her a small smile, which surprised Percy most about the meeting. "If that is all, this meeting is adjourned."


	8. Vacation Talk

Chapter Eight

"I'm surprised Zeus didn't smite you when you made that comment." Hermes leaned against the doorframe, grinning when Percy jumped from where she was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she sat up and Hermes wandered aimlessly in, sitting down on the bunk across from her.

"I heard you were off tonight since the battle is tomorrow." he shrugged "I figured I'd visit and see if you needed anything."

"Nope, I'm traveling light tomorrow, it won't be a long battle." she leaned back against the wall and nodded at her armor that was sitting near the door, shining and ready to go.

"You still fight in leather?" he raised his eyebrows in surprise

"Yep! Easier to move in and still protects pretty well." she looked over at him and he turned away from the armor to the pictures on the wall. "I'm going to watch a movie, wanna watch?" she pulled out an old computer and turned it on.

"Sure, I have nothing better to do." she patted the bed when he said that and moved over against the wall.

"I'm going to take a long vacation when this is over tomorrow." Percy broke the silence as they waited for the dvd to load.

"Vacation sounds wonderful." he settled back into the pillows she had propped against the headboard.

"When was the last time you had one?" she questioned, glancing over at him as the introductory music began. She had decided to watch the disney version of Hercules, partially to see Hermes reaction.

"A couple hundred years ago, if not more." he shrugged "I'm not even really sure it was a vacation." he looked over at her as she shifted, bringing a knee up to her chin as the computer balanced between her one stretched out leg and his.

"Well then I guess we both will have to go on vaca." she gave him a short grin before turning to the movie. They watched in silence for several minutes before Hermes spoke up.

"If you could go anywhere, where would you go?" his voice was soft, as if he didn't want to disturb the peace that had settled around them.

"Somewhere warm with a beach and clear, clear water and soft sand." she whispered, still watching the screen. "Somewhere monsters didn't exist." this was even softer and Hermes reached out to take her hand. Silence surrounded them again, he knew there wasn't anything he could say to her comment that would help.

"A dying friend of mine once told me he wished he hadn't spent so many Mondays wishing they were Fridays." she turned to look at him and his eyes glittered in the dim light.

"That is very true, being a demigod has taught me not to take a moment for granted." she sighed "We have rough days, rough nights, and a known rough tomorrow. Even more so, we know it will be a rough life for us. I still get up though, every damn day, want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because every damn day the sun rises, so I guess I do too." she sucked in a deep breath "Sorry I went on that rant-"

"No, don't apologize." he reached forward, paused the movie and turned towards her "Persephone you of all people do not need to apologize."

"Sometimes I wonder which will get me killed faster, my loyalty or my stubbornness." she set the computer down on the bed and turned towards him, pulling both knees up and resting her chin between them.

"I wonder too." he paused "I worry about you, more than I should." there was silence for several moments and he met her eyes. They were thoughtful and a little bright.

"Woah. Why is he here?" Nico's voice spooked both of them and Percy hissed at him. Nico bowed quickly to the god, muttering apologies, but out of the corner of his eye he was glaring at Percy.

"Nico, what's up?" she questioned, leaning against the wall with a calm look on her face. Nico quickly straightened, turning towards her.

"I heard you were in camp tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to do something with Will and I." he glanced over at Hermes "Looks like your busy though, so I'll be going." he started to back into a shadow but Hermes stopped him,

"Nope, I was just leaving." he turned towards Percy "Good luck in your battle tomorrow and to you too Nico." and then he was gone.

"Why was he here?" Nico turned towards her with a questioning look "He's a god, if your sleeping with-"

"I'm not sleeping with Hermes," she rolled her eyes "We are friends." Nico gave her a look that said really? But didn't question it any further.

"Anyways, Athena's entire cabin is currently sitting outside their cabin arguing." he gave her a look and she grinned.

"Spiders?" she questioned, catching the old tennis shoes he threw in her direction and throwing them on hastily, tucking the laces in instead of tying them.

"When is it not?" he sent her a smirk and slid back into the shadows, while she jumped out the window into the soft grass below.

"Finally." Will grinned at her from under one of the lights that had been mandatorily put in after one demigod broke his leg running around in the dark (Which technically they weren't even allowed to do). "I was wondering if Nics had found you dead or something with how long that took."

"Oops." she gave him a wild smirk as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders "Is the show still going on?"

"Hell to the yeah it is." they were walking towards Athena's cabin. "Glad you decided to come enjoy the show for once instead of holing up in that cabin of yours."

"Wait," Percy froze mid step, eyes growing wide "Annabeth isn't back, is she?" Will glanced at her in surprise

"I thought you'd know, she returned about a week ago." Will looked uncomfortable and turned towards her.

"Shit, I can't." she started backing away quickly "I can't go over there, you know that." she shook her head and took off just as Nico appeared, grinning, from the shadows. His grin quickly fell as he watched her retreating form.

"Let me guess," Nico sighed "She didn't know Annabeth was back." he ran his hands through his hair and stepped closer to his boyfriend.

"She freaked, that look she gave me." Will was still staring off into the darkness where Percy had disappeared "I'm worried about her."

"Me too," Nico shook his head "i'll talk to Jason tomorrow, if he's around." he paused "Shit, nevermind. Battle tomorrow." Nico growled in frustration and Will grabbed his hand

"Hey, it'll be alright, let's go back to your cabin."

Xxx

Percy wandered down the beach, shivering as a cold wind blew in from the sea. She didn't have a sweatshirt on and goose bumps coated her arms.

"Persephone." the voice was quiet and she jumped, spinning, half crouched. Triton pulled out of the shadows and a guttural growl came from her throat as she glared at him.

"Triton, what are you doing here?" she stood slowly, seeing as he offered no threat with his hands tucked in his sweatshirt pockets.

"I'm here because I wanted to talk to you," he paused "I was heading towards your cabin but I saw you leave, so I was waiting for you to come back." he kind of rambled and she raised her eyebrows.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she looked back towards camp, seeing cabin three lit up. "Do you want to come in or stay out here?"

"Let's go for a walk and you tell me why you are running with the scent of fear so strong around you." he began walking away from the lit camp and she looked back once more before deciding to join him.

"So you were coming to see me?" she kept close to the water and he didn't seem to mind. She kicked at a wave and the spray hit the bottom of his pant legs.

"First let's talk about why you were running." he looked over at her with a questioning gaze as she let out a large sigh.

"You know Annabeth?"

"Yeah, Athena's daughter, isn't she your best friend?" he looked ahead at where they were walking

"She was, but her brain made it so she didn't understand what was happening in Tartarus and now she says I've made everything up and she's made up tons of rumors that have ruined my reputation." she paused "Along with some others, such as telling everyone I'm sleeping with Jason and Nico." she snorted "Which is extremely gross."

"Wow." Triton chuckled shaking his head in disbelief "That sounds like a jealous ex best friend if you ask me."

"No kidding." she paused "Surprisingly, it was a huge blow for me and some days it hurts to get out of bed." she let out another long sigh and looked over at him. "You never expect your best friend to stab you in the back, especially after they worked for years to tear all your walls down just so you could see the light."

"You know," he paused for several moments, chewing his lip as if thinking of what to say "It's her loss. You did everything you could do, you compromised for her, I mean, you gave up immortality for her for crying out loud." he threw his arms out and stopped, turning towards her "You gave her everything while she gave you absolutely nothing and still here you are, ready to take her back if she apologized. It's her loss and it is someone else's gain Persephone. That someone else is going to appreciate everything she doesn't. You need that, you deserve that. Trust me, you deserve nothing less." Persephone stared, mouth slightly gaped open and Triton ducked his head, embarrassed.

"I did not expect that from you." she began laughing and he sent her a small smile

"Yeah, well, that's why I'm here" he sucked in a deep breath "I want to apologize for everything I have done to you, I know you might not be able to forgive me, but if you can I promise I will be everything you need. I will be there for you, i will be your brother."

"Whoa." she couldn't get any other words out and just stared, again shocked. He was practically begging for forgiveness. "Are you like, about to get on your knees and beg?" she said it without thinking and Triton threw back his head to glance at the sky for a second before beginning to kneel.

"I will if you want me too."

"Uh, no no." she reached forward and pulled him to his feet "Sorry, didn't mean to say that out loud."

"Oh," he snorted and ran a hand through his hair, relieved. "Well we should get back, you should sleep before tomorrow's battle."

"Eh, I barely sleep as is and I probably won't sleep tonight." they turned though and began heading back towards camp. "Hey Triton?"

"Yeah?" he turned towards her and she swallowed several times,

"Were you the one at seaworld all those years ago?" Triton raised an eyebrow at her words and chuckled lightly.

"How do you even remember that?"

"I remember seeing a man who knew my name without me having to tell him. I remember that man telling me I wasn't crazy. Most of all though, I remember his eyes." she looked out towards the ocean. "Thank you Triton."

"I was so angry at father for cheating on my mother." he sucked in a breath I wanted to see for myself what vile creation father had created, but when I saw you." he paused and looked over at her "You were my little sister and I swore right there that I would protect you forever and I failed. Even more than that, I was incredibly cruel towards you."

"Triton, please don't apologize." she looked over at him "I understood and still understand where you were coming from." they were silent for several minutes until they came to stand beside the cabin steps, the dim light flickering above them.

"Try and get some sleep tonight, okay?" he watched her carefully as she glanced at the cabin door.

"Yeah, I'll try." she paused "Thank you brother."

"Goodnight sister and good luck in your battle, Iris message me when you can." he flipped a drachma towards her and she caught it with a grin.

"I will."


	9. Certain Death

Chapter Nine

"About time you showed up." Jason grinned cheekily at Percy as she walked into the arena. All the others were already there, waiting for the gods and their last minute commands.

"Where's your armor?" Nico frowned at her training leather armor, scarred from years of work.

"I'm not wearing it, it doesn't fit right and is still dented from Tartarus." she grimaced and glanced around "Mr. D isn't here yet?"

"Right behind you Miss Johnson." his voice was extremely grumpy, probably because he was up at the crack of dawn. Percy just bowed her head, rolling her eyes at the god as he walked past her.

"Good morning everyone!" Nico and Percy groaned as Apollo popped into existence between the two of them.

"Don't encourage them please." Mr. D grumbled, looking towards the god warningly. Apollo's grin fell as he looked at the demigods around them. "Persephone, have you warmed up yet?"

"I literally just woke up." she grimaced and he raised an eyebrow as if to say so? On the other hand, Will and Jason were staring at her in shock.

"You actually slept?" Jason sputtered, a grin starting to form on his face. Percy shrugged

"Don't get too happy, I had nightmares all night." she turned away from them at this but Mr. D was still watching her "What?" her voice held an edge to it and Will flinched, glancing away from the two of them.

"Don't overdo it out there today, you don't have to play superhero." he paused when her face grew dark, eyes swirling with black clouds "I'm just saying everyone you are taking is highly capable of saving themselves."

"Okay?" she sent him a questioning look and Mr. D sighed deep, looking as if he were just about done with her.

"Attitude Miss Johnson."

"I have more if you want it and it's not Johnson, it's Jackson." she quipped, spinning on her heel and walking towards a training rack of daggers.

"Are you seriously going to take the training daggers with you?" Nico was staring at them with unhidden disgust and Percy shrugged.

"As we all know, I lost most of my weapons in tartarus." she picked up a few and spun them in her hands. Sheathing them into hidden areas in her training armor before turning towards her cousin. "You have a problem?"

"No, none at all." he turned back towards Will and lowered his voice "I have a feeling we are going to get a show today." Will nodded in agreement, but worry shone bright in his eyes. Conversation restarted slowly but Mr. D kept his gaze trained on Persephone, who rolled through her warm up with relative ease.

"Do you think Pigeons have feelings?" Jason jumped in surprise as percy's voice came from behind him.

"Holy gods." he sucked in a breath, recovering "Percy for the last time, please do not sneak up on me." Percy shrugged and gave him a look that said then watch your back better

Xxx

Everything had gone exactly as she had planned, until it didn't. One second she and Jason were easily corralling the monsters in, driving them up onto the other demigods' blades when the next second, they had them surrounded. Percy hadn't thought, she had just reacted and now, look where it had gotten her.

Her heart pounded in her chest like a drumbeat, growing louder with every footfall. Legs giving out, she pushed onwards, breath raspy and quick coming as trees blurred past. She couldn't stop, she would not stop. Quitting would be bad things for her, like imprisonment or something worse. Most likely certain death, but it would mean even worse things for her friends, the reason why she had been running so fast for so long. She was drawing the monsters away from them. She had no idea where she was going anymore or when she would stop, because eventually she would have to. Her time was running out, she couldn't run forever.

"You cannot run forever, my dear." the monster closest behind her chuckled darkly as she tripped again and his claw hooked into her shirt sleeve, shrieking, she spun blindly and threw her remaining dagger before taking off again, pushing off the tree as one of her shoes lost it's traction in the mud. Mud. she almost gasped in relief, she was nearing water. Something dripped down the side of her face, but she ignored it, knowing it was most likely blood, but not wanting to think about what that meant.

Come closer the water seemed to whisper, drawing her towards it like a beacon. She switched her course quickly, feet sliding again, but pace quickening as a small burst of adrenaline hit her system. It was a weak attempt from her body, but all the same she was thankful. Sunlight glinted into her eyes, and she gasped in relief as sudden energy rushed into her limbs. She was knee deep in the water and quickly she forced the water to form into a blade as she turned towards the monsters. A feral grin formed on her face as her eyes lit up with such intensity, that the monsters hesitated before coming after her.

"How do you like me now?" she muttered as they hordes upon hordes swarmed her. They tried again and again, and again. Each time they were deftly deflected, tossed aside by a wave here, pinned under the water by a wave there. Knocked back by her blade and sliced open by it's icey edge. Time seemed to become lost as she gave herself entirely to her battle senses, slicing, blocking, spinning. The water became gold tinted with monster dust and yet still she continued. Sobs wracked her throat, but she paid them no mind, ribs cracked but the pain was a distance memory. Blood dripped into her mouth from her nose, pooling with the blood and saliva that she hacked up. They were well trained soldiers, she had to give the monsters that. It surprised her how well trained they were, but alas, they were no match for her and eventually, eventually, none remained. Still, she stood.

She couldn't move as the sword she had created slowly melted and ran down her arms and back into the lake. The water around her was red and blearily, she realized it was her blood mixing with the water. Why hadn't she healed? She remembered vaguely something about injuries being too much for the water itself to heal, but that didn't make sense, when would she have gotten such an injury. Her vision blurred and the world tilted sideways as her body submerged into the lake. She took one last, gasping breath as she went under, even though she knew she could breathe perfectly well under the surface. Particles of gold dust floated past her eyes as she drifted in the water. She heard a few fish discussing her and wondered why they they mentioned death so many times. She couldn't see them. Her vision was too blurry. All she could see were shadows under and around her and a slowly fading light above her. Was this lake really that deep? Or was it that dirty? She couldn't tell, nor did she really care.

Every time she breathed out, the water turned red around her, it was that that shook her to her senses, made her realize just what was happening. She was so tired though, so damn tired. Anyways, who cared if she finally let that light go out? In a sky of a million stars, she was the one that flickered and flickered. Who cared if that imperfect little gem ran out of time. If a moment was all she was, was all she had to offer the world, then she had just offered it. Wholeheartedly over and over and over again in the measly thing they called life. So who cared? Who cared if that light flickered once more, and just never relit itself. Who cared if that light just stopped. She was so fucking tired of this tunnel of light anyways. So, so tired.

"I care." The voice was quiet in the back of her mind and she recognized it. Who was that? She wandered towards the voice, wanting to know who it was.

"Percy!" something smacked her face and she opened her eyes slowly, staring at the blurryface above her. "Hey! Stay with me, stay with me!" the face looked away and she let her eyes drift closed again. At the edge of her brain, she recognized him as a camp leader.

There was a bright flash and comotion, she felt air beneath her, but nothing felt real, it was as if she were watching it from a distance instead of living it. There was screaming and shouts and something smacked her face.

"I need help in here!" Percy faded out as Dionysus tossed her onto the shower floor and turned the water on full blast. Her mind was buzzing and her body tingled, as if waking back up.

"Mr. D-" she dragged her eyes open, the words just a breath in the air. He looked down at her, as if hearing her voice, but she was already drifting again, black spots haunted her vision. She began coughing violently, her body racked in pain as she did so.

"Holy-" Apollo was the first that ran in and Percy figured she looked as bad as she felt, because he was on the shower floor beside her in a second. "She has blood coming out of her ears, Someone get nectar!" Apollo was shouting other things, but she couldn't hear. Everything grew dim and then everything was gone and there was just blackness.


	10. You call that a suicide mission?

Chapter ten

Percy sucked in a deep breath, letting air hit her lungs before she took in the details of her surroundings. Someone's soft, rhythmic breathing came from her right, the whirring of machines on her left. The next thing she noticed was the tightness around her chest and something stuck to the skin on her legs and arms.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." the voice was hushed and she shifted her face towards it, peeling her eyelids open to squint up at the form above her.

"Oh yay, I'm alive." her hoarse whisper was dripping with sarcasm and she let her eyes drift back closed as she listened to Apollo pick up a clipboard and mumble something under his breath. "You messed my suicide mission up." she opened her eyes again to see Apollo raising his eyebrow at her.

"You call that a suicide mission?" he paused and she sent him a partial smile, lifting only one side of her mouth.

"I guess I'll just have to try harder next time." she grumbled, closing her eyes and letting out a soft breath before shifting her head to the right slightly and wincing. "How long has he been here?" she watched Poseidon through half closed eyes and Apollo tisked his tongue.

"Since you were brought in." he glanced over at Poseidon and then looked at her "You've been here three days."

"Three days?" she jerked her head in shock and he nodded, "How?"

"You burned out, not even water could keep you alive. We gave you two blood transfusions, then started injecting nectar when they did nothing." he set the clipboard down and picked up her arms, pulling up bandages to show closed, but unhealed cuts.

"Nectar and ambrosia don't work as well on me after Tartarus." she let out a deep breath and a sudden coughing fit hit her, causing her to curl around her middle as stabbing pain enveloped her.

"Easy, easy." An oxygen mask appeared and covered her mouth and nose, a strap around the back of her head held it in place and slowly, her breathing returned back to normal.

"Persephone." she turned her head to see Poseidon kneeling beside her bed, staring at her in horror. Apollo quietly left the room, taking his clipboard with him.

"Hey dad." her head lolled to the side as weakness filled her and her eyes drifted closed. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." he pulled his chair over to the side of her bed, gripping her hand in his as if it were his lifeline. "It is not your fault." this time he said it more firmly and she opened her eyes to look at him.

"How is everyone?" she whispered, afraid of the answer, but knowing she needed it. There had been so many monsters, too many.

"Everyone is safe, nobody was injured." he ran his hand through his hair "The monsters were interested only in you; from what we understand, they wanted to capture you."

"What?" she was confused and he saw it in the frown she gave him.

"You killed every one of those monsters," he paused "And they almost killed you." he leaned back in his chair, exhaustion still hanging in his eyes.

"You should go get some sleep dad." she murmured watching as he tilted his head to watch her. "I'll still be here, I'm pretty sure it's going to be like a hostage situation." she grinned weakly at him and Poseidon shook his head, a small smile forming.

"I'll be back tonight." he paused after standing to watch her for a moment "get some rest and try not to annoy Apollo too much."

"I'll try my hardest." her eyes drifted closed and when she opened them, he was gone. Boredom set in within seconds and a small, miniscule part of her wished she'd asked him to stay. Several minutes passed and she let herself drift into past memories.

"I thought I asked you to iris message me and let me know you were alright." she glanced towards the door and saw Triton leaning against the doorway, dark clothes ruffled as if he had slept in them all night.

"I wasn't alright and I just woke up." she watched as he slowly made his way into the room sitting down in the chair that Poseidon had vacated only minutes before, or what she thought was minutes.

"What were you thinking about just now?" he lifted his feet up on the bed and crossed them. Percy slowly shifted onto her side so she was facing him, lifting her arm and readjusting the wires so she didn't accidently pull any out. Triton reached forward to help and soon they had it all sorted out on the bed behind her.

"Lots of stuff, mostly past battles." she sighed "mentors I've had over the years and lost."

"Ah, nostalgic?" he gave her a soft smile and she lifted her shoulder in response, wincing at the sore muscles.

"I miss them," she glanced away and he leaned back in the chair, waiting "Even the ones I shouldn't miss."

"Like?" he gave her a questioning look and she blew out a long breath, closing her eyes for a moment.

"Like Luke Castellan." she waited for a negative response, but none came and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Have you visited him since his betrayal?"

"In Elysium?" she shook her head "No, I don't really have the time between training and everything but I know Nico has." she paused "I know he trains with Achilles and his group now. That's good for him, a family." there was silence and Triton looked thoughtful

"Have you thought about doing what he did?" she didn't answer his question for several minutes, thinking about her answer and who she was giving it to.

"Well I wouldn't go as far as he did, but saying fuck the gods?" she tilted her head and gave a cold grin "Every damn day." her voice was gravilly and the grin wavered. Her energy quaked and she knew it wouldn't be long before she fell back into that unconscious state that had enveloped her for so long.

"I'm sorry for what we have done." he paused "And I'm sorry I did nothing to make it better." his eyes were a pale sea green and she wondered if hers were the same color. Reaching out, she gripped his hand and smiled softly.

"It is not you who created the laws, it is not you who makes me want to walk away and never look back, and it is not you who put me in this bed." she looked into his eyes as she said this and Triton glanced away. "For what it's worth, at the end of the day I wouldn't exchange this life for any other, because it has allowed me to inspire others to grow as individuals, it has allowed me to bring change and understand where there was not. I would do it all over again if I had to, with some minor changes of course." she gave him a quirky grin just as Apollo walked in.

"I'm sorry to say that I am going to have to break this party up, my patient needs sleep before she gets her next wave of visitors." he gave Triton a pointed glance while Percy glared at him halfheartedly.

"I'm not tired." but even as she said it, she felt her eyelids growing heavier. Apollo snorted, as if sensing her dilemma.

"Right and I'm not a doctor." he walked over and began adjusting the cords, tisking his tongue as she rolled towards him. "Stop moving, you're messing with your bandages."

"Sorry." she mumbled, watching as Triton stood and stretched easily. "I'll see you around?" she asked hopefully, quietly and Triton rolled his eyes.

"I'll be back tomorrow, I have to get some work done as I've been worrying too much to do anything these last couple of days." he waved "Sleep tight little sis." and with that, he was gone.

"I didn't know you two got along as well as you do." Apollo gave her a questioning look and Percy shrugged. Slowly the top half of her bed raised so she was sitting up "I'm going to check some of your bandages before you sleep. He pulled the blankets back and she grimaces at the bloody one on her leg.

"That's great." she was sarcastic and Apollo knew it, but he shrugged anyways.

"I'd rather see it draining then holding in everything and getting infected," he paused "I would like to see you healing at a faster rate though." he began pulling the bandages off with ease and cleaning the wounds.

"Do you enjoy your life?" Percy asked suddenly, watching as Apollo paused what he was doing.

"Some days yes, but most days it is rather boring." he sent her a smile "You've made it more interesting these past few days."

"Sounds like I'm not missing a thing." he sent her a wry grin when she said this and rewrapped her thigh with cotton and sticky, thick tape.

"Get some sleep, I'll bring you food later." he promised, lifting the blanket over her and putting the bed back into lying position.


	11. Speedy Recovery-demigod style

Chapter Eleven

"I feel like I've been chewed up and spit out." Percy groaned, sitting up in the bed as Hermes walked in. It had been several days and healing was slow, but even slower was the time that passed. Her only company had been Dionysus, who had growled at everyone who had come to say hello and Apollo. Poseidon hadn't come back, even though he had said he would and Triton had iris messaged her several times apologizing for his delay in visit.

"Maybe that'll teach you to not fight hordes of monsters." Hermes sank into the chair with a sigh.

"Nice to see you finally made time for me." she leaned gingerly back again, wincing lightly as she did so. Hermes gave her a look and Percy grinned, letting him know she was joking.

"The gods have been keeping me busy." he rolled his eyes and she rolled over to face him slowly. "And you were asleep each time I visited."

"Oh." she grimaced "I've been sleeping a lot." she looked down and Hermes shrugged

"You deserve it Perc." he tipped his chair back, leaning his head against the wall. Voices outside the room made both of them perk up, but they couldn't hear the exact words. "Poseidon and Zeus are fighting again." he glanced at her as he said the words quietly and Percy frowned,

"How often does that happen?" Percy sat up slowly, watching as Hermes fidgeted, shrugging as he did so.

"About once a week, it's quite annoying."

"No kidding." Dionysus grumbled, walking in and eyeing her with a look that spelled trouble on his face. "Good you're awake." he paused again and glared at Hermes hard enough that he stood, wiping imaginary dust from his pants

"I'll come back later Perc." he stated, sending her a soft smile as he walked towards the door, edging around Dionysus.

"Don't bother, I'm taking her back to camp, you'll see her on guard duty in a few days." Dionysus turned towards her and tossed her the bag in his hands. "Change clothes, I'm coming back in in five minutes whether you are dressed or not." spinning on his heel, he stalked out.

"Here, let me help." Hermes stepped towards her and Percy winced, glancing towards the door again "At least let me help you stand, then I'll leave."

"Fine." she muttered, taking his offered hand and setting her feet unsteadily on the ground. He gripped her arms tightly, but not uncomfortable as he helped her into a standing position, sucking in a breath, she closed her eyes as the room spun.

"This is my medical practice not his and he doesn't get to make decisions without me." Apollo stalked in, snarling, his face softening momentarily when she glanced towards him in shock. "Here, let me help." he gently took Hermes place and the god muttered a few excuses before exiting the room.

"So this wasn't your decision?" Percy held onto his shoulder, legs wobbling as he grabbed the pair of jeans sitting on the bed and grimaced at them. He motioned for her to sit and gathered the fabric in his hands, kneeling in front of her.

"Most definitely not, you are nowhere near ready to be out of bed." he began to pull the jeans up over her feet and she jerked back, wincing when he glared at her "I'm only getting them on you so that you don't have to try balancing on one foot when you stand and pull them up. Relax"

"Sorry." she muttered, letting him work for a second. He made quick work and motioned for her to stand, holding onto her elbow as she did so, but allowing her other arm to be free to pull her jeans up under her hospital gown.

"Get as much rest as you can, drink as much nectar as possible and eat a lot of food." he directed "Try sleeping on your back, not your side and do your stretches before you get up and before you go to bed." he was still kneeling in front of her as she sat down, winded just from the effort of putting on her jeans. "You're going to heal, but it will take time, a lot more than this." he glared at the door "Don't rush back to guard duty, I won't have Will clear you for at least two weeks." standing, he kissed her forehead much to her surprise "Thank you for keeping me company for a few days, next time just ask." he sent her a cocky grin that didn't quite meet his sad eyes and swept towards the door "You better hurry and put that shirt on, you have one minute." and with that, he was gone. Percy sucked in a shuddering breath and slowly pulled the gown off, laying it on the pillow beside her and twisting for the shirt. Everything was painful, but she ignored it best she could as she pulled it over her head just as Dionysus walked in.

"Let's go." he grabbed her arm and flashed them away without even asking permission. He wasn't normally like this and Percy wondered what was wrong, but she didn't dare ask.

Appearing next to the Big House, Dionysus waved her off and walked inside, snarling at a demigod that was watering flowers. The demigod cowered and hurried off, yelping as the door slammed hard enough to shake the entire house.

"Welcome back." she started, wincing as she turned quickly to see Nico standing behind her. "Need help?" he moved to her side without further invitation and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Thank you." she murmured as he walked slowly beside her, bearing some of her weight as she wrapped her arm around his neck.

"You shouldn't have done it you know, we could have figured something else out." they walked slowly and his voice was gravelly, telling her that he had been worried sick the past few days.

"And someone would have died." she paused and gave him a look, her eyes growing a shade lighter as his grew darker. "Nico, I did what I had to do, as we all do in battle."

"I just wish you would have shared the burden, let one of us lead them off with you." he paused "Thank you for saving our lives, I doubt you'll hear that from anyone."

"Has Annabeth been twisting lies around my name again?" she watched as her cabin came closer and closer, wheezing a little as Nico shifted her weight.

"When is she not." he paused :You'll find less friends in this camp then ever before cousin, be careful." they reached the base of her cabin steps after several silent minutes. Persephone let out a long sigh and closed her eyes.

"Do you mind?" she gave him a wry grin and Nico rolled his eyes, picking her up and carrying her up the stairs before depositing her before the door.

"I need to get back, my father has some errands for me to run." pausing he eyed her quizzically. "Will you be alright alone?"

"I'm injured Nico, I'm not an invalid." she gave him a look and watched as he melted backwards into the shadows, quickly leaving no trace of himself behind. He was getting better and better at it all the time. Slowly, she made her way into the cabin, locking the door tight behind her and limping her way onto the sun porch behind the cabin, overlooking the lake. She lowered herself into the hammock in the back and laid down, swinging it slowly as she stared up at the sky.

"This is nice." Percy glanced over towards the shadows, shocked to see Thanatos stepping from them with an odd look on his face. "I expected more doom and gloom for such an accomplished warrior as yourself, not something like this." he paused, leaning against the door leading into the cabin and looked out over the water. "I like it, I like it a lot."

"You, the lord of death, liking something peaceful and bright and cheery?" she gave him a grin, "I would never have expected that."

"Surprise surprise." he looked down at her, watching as she shifted slowly so she was sitting in the hammock facing him,

"So what are you here for?" she crossed her arms and watched as he scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"You died a few days ago, but I waited." he stared at her with his dark eyes, wings flaring a little before settling again "I waited and I saw them pull you out of the water. I waited and I saw them try to bring you back to life for hours, I waited and I saw you revived."

"I didn't realize I had died, I thought I had just depleted my energy."

"Same difference." he shrugged his shoulders "I've come to warn you that the monsters of the underworld will be more drawn to you now, not to attack but to befriend you."

"I have one hellhound, I guess a few more won't be much difference." she gave him a sly grin as Thanatos shook his head.

"You've been marked by the darkness and because of that, the darkness owns you." she hissed at these words, sitting up fully and snarling at him,

"I am not owned by the sea, I am not owned by the gods, I am not owned by the darkness." she paused, standing and stalking towards him, hips rolling as her entire body streamlined. "I am not the girl who is controlled, I am not the girl who is owned by anyone. I am my own person and I decide my own fate." she stood nose to nose with him, teeth bared in a savage snarl, more animalistic than human.

"I can see why the gods like you so much." he wiped his face, stepping back and watching as she instantly relaxed her posture into a guarded yet comfortable position. "You just passed my test and because of that, I am going to tell you a little secret."

"Oh?" she tilted her head, eyes dark "Is there a price for this secret?"

"This secret is a gift," he stepped to the end of the dock and spoke, facing away from her. "This is something they don't teach you in your camp classes, this is something not taught in temples or castles or even churches, The gods envy you." turning towards her he took one step back towards her "They envy you because you are mortal, your life could end at any second and that makes it more beautiful. You will never be lovelier than you are now, because you have been doomed from the start. You realize this and you survive and you live despite the fact that you are dying." he stalked towards her until his shoulder met hers, turning his head, he looked directly into her eyes "Are you the wolf or the savior, little demigod?"

"Is my smile too sharp or just my teeth?" she grinned at him, snapping her teeth together as his face took on a devilish hint of excitement "Come a little closer and you might find out."

"I like you Persephone Jackson, i think with time you and I could become friends."

"I guess we could be." she turned away from him and sat back down in her hammock, staring up at the sky as he stalked towards a shadow. "Too bad we will never find out." I need you to find something for me she sent the prayer blasting towards him and he flinched, turning back towards her with an interested expression

"Go on," he motioned, crossing his arms as his eyes grew lighter, brighter with curiosity.

"As you said, I am dying." A sketchbook I lost in Tartarus. I believe Iapetus has it "Unless I were to become immortal." she glanced down at her fingernails, watching him from under her eyelids as he stared at her momentarily. She began to think he hadn't heard her unspoken words when,

"You'll have it by the end of the month, I promise." spinning on his heel, his wings flared once and she glanced away as his form brightened, then disappeared all at once.

xxx

A week past without much entertainment for Persephone. She played pinochle with Dionysus and taught the younger kids a bit of swordsmanship, but besides that she just hung around her cabin, lazing in the sun. Most would find it relaxing, but as the week went on, she found herself becoming more and more uptight. There was more distance in her eyes as the week wore on, there was a stiffness in her shoulders that hadn't been there before, and the smallest sounds made her jump.

"I need a volunteer for the Olympian camp out this weekend." Dionysus glanced up at her over his cards as he sat across the table from her.

"I'll see if I can find a volunteer." Chiron began "It's going to be hard finding someone with a little experience that won't be studying."

"I'm not studying." Percy tilted back in her chair, crossing her legs as she rested them on the edge of the table. "I could go."

"You haven't been released Persephone." Chiron eyed her as she tipped her chair back some more, shrugging her shoulders. "It's up to Lord Dionysus though." he sighed and put his cards down "I'm going to bed, get some rest tonight." Persephone tipped back even more as Chiron moved around the table and into the house.

"So?" Percy set her cards down as well and pulled her feet off the table, letting her chair tip back forward.

"I'm taking you." Dionysus studied his cards for a second longer before sighing and setting them down as well "Don't do anything stupid, don't get it in your head to play hero, and don't piss off anybody this weekend." he stood and came around the table as he talked, watching her carefully as she crossed her arms and shifted uncomfortably.

"No problem sir, I know how to behave in royal company."

"I know you do." he paused "I'm worried about you, but I'm not going to push. Let me know when you want to talk." squeezing her shoulder, he smiled softly "Good night Perc."


	12. Camp Out-Godly Style

Chapter twelve

"What demigod are we taking along with us?" Hermes questioned, watching as the Olympians gathered in the throne room. Only Apollo was missing, as he was making sure the sun stayed on course in the sky.

"Whichever one shows up with Dionysus." Hera mentioned, sitting in her throne and waiting patiently. Hermes decided he would never be like her, nor have a wife like her. Never in his thousands of years had he seen the woman even remotely look as if she were enjoying herself.

"It won't be Persephone, she is too injured, she's supposed to be healing." Poseidon grumbled, causing Zeus to look over at him with raised eyebrows.

"That is where you are wrong." Dionysus stalked in, eyes bright with fiery anger that was barely concealed beneath his human form. He was carrying a bag of what could only be weapons and armor and a demigod strode in behind him, her black hair glistening in the early morning sunlight. Her green eyes flashing at him in irritation. She carried her own bag of supplies and Ares raised a heavy eyebrow.

"Are you expecting to start a war?" he gestured to the clanking bags as Dionysus dropped them and Percy dropped her own next to them. Percy just crossed her arms, raising her chin in defiance as she cocked a challenging eyebrow at him.

"You are already getting on my last nerve and we have only just arrived. I will say this one more time, chill demigod." Dionysus threw the snarled words over his shoulder, glaring at the demigod as she slowly turned her head towards him, standing down from the challenge and averting her eyes downwards as Dionysus glowed brightly as he sat down in his throne with a loud sigh of discontent. Percy stared at him for a moment, frowning before turning back to the gods in front of her. She bowed low, cringing when her muscles tightened in protest at the movement.

"I thought you were given strict orders to stay at camp and rest." Zeus watched as she slowly straightened up, meeting his gaze head on with a slightly lazy look.

"I was the only one who volunteered, ask Mr. D." she backed away on light feet, continuing to back up until she stood with her back facing Dionysus's throne before resuming a relaxed yet attentive position.

"Naturally, she is right." he was distracted and most of them raised an eyebrow at the statement, but didn't comment further surprisingly.

"You're not supposed to be here." Poseidon stepped off his throne to approach his daughter.

"I only follow orders, I don't give them myself." Dionysus snorted at her words as Percy strolled away. Poseidon stepped closer to her, following slowly as his daughter circled the room, eyeing every corner with an attentive stare. Artemis watched carefully, seeing through the strong exterior. Most of them saw through it, they saw the dulled eyes and the bruising that hadn't yet faded on her arms. They saw the barely concealed limp and the stiffened shoulders held in place by sheer will.

"If shit goes down, the girl is going to get killed." Hephaestus studied her with a cautious expression as she paused and stared straight back.

"Don't underestimate her," Dionysus surprisingly answered "She's got more grit then every warrior that has come before her combined. The girl is at her strongest when she is at her physically weakest point."

"Apollo said she burnt herself out which means she would be useless in a power fight." Athena flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked towards Zeus. "My daughter would be of more use, as she most likely was in Tartarus."

"Your daughter is a coward who uses her mother's name to defend her own honor. Honor that she has not earned, honor that she does not deserve." Persephoen paused in her pacing and faced Athena, eyes alight with fighting swirls of green that had not been there moments before.

"Persephone." Dionysus barked her name and she glanced towards him with mild interest. Athena's rage rolled off her in waves and it was only Zeus's warning look that kept her from smiting the demigod on the spot."

"Whoops. My apologies my lords and ladies." she casually strolled back to Dionysus's throne as the god glared down at her in anger.

"Where are we going?" Dionysus turned towards Zeus, eager to change the subject. Percy rolled her eyes, but relaxed her shoulders.

"We are waiting for everyone else to show up." Zeus answered, staring pointedly at the thrones that were still empty.

"I'm here." Hades strode in quickly with Persephone right behind him. Both seemed at ease, even with their rushed footsteps. Persephone paused and stared directly at Percy, an odd look entering her eyes as she studied the demigod for a moment before following her husband once again.

"I've decided something." Percy turned towards Dionysus and he leaned down, listening as she lowered her voice "A unhinged ferris wheel is a windmill full of corpses." she gave him a sly smirk as he guffawed, sitting back in his throne and shaking his head as she leaned against the side of his throne. Everyone looked at them in interest, but none heard what exactly she had said.

"It seems Apollo is going to be later than usual and he has asked us to continue without him." Zeus stood to his feet and all the gods quickly followed suite. "We will be camping in Yellowstone, off the mainstream trail, in an old abandoned campground that is no longer used."

"We will set up camp quickly and go for a hike before lunch." Hera decided, nodding at the others as she disappeared in a bright flash. Dionysus quickly shrunk down to his human size and grabbed a bag off the floor. Hermes rushed over and grabbed another bag, leaving Persephone to grab the last. She shuddered lightly and went to reach for it, but just as she did, a slender, tanned hand reached down and grabbed the bag.

"This is my thank you to you." Persephone touched her face "I would like to talk to you, but not right now."

"Thank me for what?" Percy was staring at her in confusion, but the goddess just strode back towards her husband. "I'm confused." she turned towards Dionysus for explanation but he raised his hands

"Don't look at me, I don't know." he grasped her shoulder "Ready?" she quickly closed her eyes, knowing what would happen all too well if she did not.

Xxx

"Hey sea princess." Apollo dropped down beside her, sprawling his legs out in front of him as he groaned. Percy smirked, wondering how often the god had gone camping before.

"Hello Apollo, to what do I owe the pleasure?" she threw him a sideways glance and he shot her a lazy grin.

"I'm surprised you weren't willing to take the week off," he paused "Seeing as your supposed to be healing." he glared at her and Persephone's lips twitched. Staring down at her blade, she sighed.

"Nobody else volunteered." she ran a cloth down the length of her blade and clicked it, pocketing the pen and flipping up her pant leg in order to access the daggers. Apollo let out a low whistle.

"You are heavily armed, expecting trouble?" he was staring at the blades with a look in his eye that said he'd rather not know the answer.

"I'm the demigod daughter of Poseidon," she paused and touched the tip of the dagger, easily nicking her finger. She rolled her eyes, it would never hold up in fight. She threw the dagger into the fire without a second thought. "I always expect trouble."

"What was wrong with the blade?" Hephaestus surprisingly asked, having been sitting across from them watching the fire for a long time.

"Too sharp, it would have snapped in a fight." she sighed and stared into the fire, watching the blade as its edges began to melt slowly. It was definitely a god made fire, no other fire would melt a blade that fast.

"Wasn't made well either by the looks of it." Hephaestus murmured, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her. Percy shrugged her shoulders, standing and stretching.

"It's one of the training blades, I wasn't given much notice that we were going camping." she stepped over the log "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to run a perimeter check." she was stiff, but still jogged away into the darkness with little to no limp.

"You're not supposed to be runnin!" Apollo called, stiffening at the pain he could sense coming off his patient even though she didn't show it.

"Did she say there was a perimeter breech?" Artemis grinned, watching as Aphrodite's face grew wide in horror.

"What?" Persephone heard Aphrodite screech the word and she smirked, entering the darkened forest and the silence that surrounded them. She wandered for a few minutes before leaning against a tree far enough from camp that she could find peace and quiet.

"Don't freak out, it's just me." Hermes voice came from the darkness and she jumped, wincing as the stiffening of her muscles sent throbs up and down her leg.

"Hello Hermes." she slowed to a walk and watched as he materialized from the darkness, grinning at her lightly. "I didn't realize we would be seeing each other so soon."

"The camping trip was a surprise and everyone surprisingly volunteered eagerly to go. The minor gods took over our duties for the weekend. Everyone was allowed to bring their spouse though, which is lucky for Dionysus."

"Yes, very lucky." she murmured, wondering if that was why she hadn't seen much of her mentor around camp that afternoon. She had thought it was because he had been drinking, but it was quite possible he was absent for another reason. Before she could continue that thought, a branch cracked behind them.

"Hello, my friends." a dark, sinister voice chuckled and a cloaked figure came around the tree, a smirk across his face.

"Who are you?" Percy spun, Riptide flashing as she held it before her, the words were a low snarl.

"Persephone Jackson, I have heard much about you." He studied her thoughtfully, throwing back his hood to reveal dark brown hair and sharpened teeth. His hair was shoulder length and quickly fell forward, masking his face shape.

"What are you?" she passed slowly, being sure to keep Hermes behind her as the god stood, a look of pure anger on his face.

"Persephone, the ancient laws." Hermes voice was low and tight. Percy shuddered, knowing what he was talking about. He was unable to help her, because of them.

"I got this, don't worry." she lunged forward and the monster in the shape of a man met her blade with one of pure darkness. Every move she made, he met equally. Percy hadn't been equaled since she was a twelve year old at camp half blood, before everything went to hell.

She almost wished he was on her side, that was how good he was. But again, only almost. She tackled the monster to the ground, pulling a smaller blade from her belt and throwing riptide out of the way.

"Who are you?" she snarled, spit flying as she stared into his eyes. So dark and cold as he grinned up at her. She had the blade pressed against his throat and he had one pressed against her stomach. Neither would move an inch. They had been built for battles such as theses, trained from the very day they had been created. Percy smiled. It was filled with death and the man bellow smirked, showing his sharp teeth.

"Now, this is a compromised situation, isn't it?" he questioned softly, throat bobbing as the knife drew a thin line of blood.

"Persephone, end him." Hermes voice held fear in it and Percy tilted her head slowly at the monster.

"Yes, it seems so." she slit his throat quickly. He choked, death not coming slowly as black blood streamed into the dirt around him.

"Well, I guess you'll have to tell everyone there was a perimeter breach." Hermes let out a shuddering breath and pulled her tightly to him, wrapping his arms around her and engulfing her in a hug.

"No worries, I'm alright." she pushed away quickly, nodding down at her pants and shirt. They were stained with the off colored blood. "Don't want to get this all over you, remember?" she gave him a look "You need to get back before me, go." she shoved his shoulder lightly as the monster behind her burst into gold dust.

"Are you going to be okay?" Hermes questioned, watching her with soft eyes. Percy rolled her and gave him another shove.

"Hermes, go." her voice was hard and he turned away, quickly making his way back through the trees.

"You picked the wrong battle." she murmured, toeing the dust and grimacing as it stuck to her boot. "I wish you had been on my side," she sighed and picked up the blackened blade he had been fighting with. It was heavy in her hands and she rolled it between her fingers, wondering if she should take it back with her. "I could have learned a lot from you." she fingered the dust slowly, kneeling again and giving a little prayer to whoever the beast's god had been.

She made her way slowly back to camp, the blood drying on her shirt and flaking off her skin. When she made it back, she noticed she had everyone's attention as she approached Hephaestus.

"What's this made out of?" she handed him the blade and he took it, as if it were a prized possession. A look in his eyes told her it was extremely valuable.

"Where did you get this?" his voice was quiet and she raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to look at her.

"A better question would be, what was a monster doing with this blade?" she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, grimacing when they came back sticky. Apparently the spray from the monster's jugular had hit more than just her shirt and arms.

"I'll tell you more about it after you get cleaned up." he gave her a knowing look and Percy turned away, only to meet the gazes of eleven gods and goddesses staring at her in horror.

"Yeah, I know." she rolled her eyes and made her way out of the circle. "I'm going." she walked towards the tents, knowing that hers was farthest away from the campfire, in the shadows of the forest. Good, she thought. Nobody will hear my screams

She was just about to enter the tent when a person clear their throat behind her. Percy turned, half expecting it to be Hermes or Apollo, but it wasn't.

"Are you injured?" his voice was rough and his sea green eyes bright with worry. A crease across his forehead made her question the answer that had been forming in her head.

"No, I'm okay." she lifted the flap and tensed when she realized he wasn't leaving. "Do you want to come in?" she gave him a wide smirk that made Poseidon roll his eyes.

"No, I'll wait for you out here." he put his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky as she quickly entered the tent, digging through her bag to find a clean t shirt and jeans. She balled up the clothes she had been wearing, knowing she'd now have to burn them. It had been her favorite sweatshirt too. Thalia had gotten it for her for her birthday and she frowned, knowing she'd never hear the end of it.

"Okay I'm good." she came back out in a fresh set of clothes, minus a sweatshirt since that had been the only one she had had. The clothes she had had on were balled in her hands and Poseidon frowned at them. "Blood doesn't come out, I have to burn them." she shrugged when his frown deepened.

"Where's your sweatshirt?" he walked beside her as she strode back towards the fire, keeping pace easily.

"That was the only one I brought." she grimaced in realization that she now had to make it the entire weekend without one "I didn't exactly have a large amount of notice that I was coming here."

"I'm sorry Persephone." Poseidon's voice was quiet and Percy sighed, running her hand through her hair as she glanced over at her father.

"Don't apologize, it's not you." she grimaced when he raised an eyebrow questioningly, then shrugged. "Don't." she warned, giving him a look that said that he shouldn't even start. Poseidon raised his hands in surrender.

"Don't what?" Ares grinned at them from the fire, having been watching as the daughter of the sea approached, much to Aphrodite's disgust.

"Shut it Ares." Percy snapped, dropping the clothes into the fire and watching them quickly light up in flames.

"Wow, salty much?" Dionysus grinned at her, having been feeding the flames with smaller logs. His eyes warned her though, telling her she had just made a grave mistake.

"I'm the daughter of the sea god, of course I'm salty." she answered cheekily, plopping down in front of the fire and pulling riptide out. She sighed, grumbling under her breath about having to start the cleaning process all over again.

"You are sassy today Miss Johnson." Dionysus sat down on the log behind her and Percy could feel his gaze burning into her back along with about half a dozen other states. Percy sucked in a deep breath and glared up at the sky, trying to control herself.

"Why are you staring at the sky like that?" Zeus questioned, watching the demigod carefully as she slowly lowered her gaze to him. Her eyes fierily danced and Dionysus jumped up

"I'm going to fight it." several whistles sounded through the air and Dionysus picked her up by the front of her shirt, snarling at her

"What are you doing?" he growled, face extremely close to hers. Percy just grinned back sadistically and Dionysus cussed. "Persephone Jackson get yourself under control right now." his eyes were barely controlled, lit into a hazy purple fire that was reflected right back at him in her own ever darkening gaze.

"Dionysus, it's fine, leave the demigod alone." most surprisingly, Zeus had stood up and placed a hand on his son's shoulder, urging him to let go.

"Watch yourself next time." Dionysus snapped at Percy before turning away and walking towards the tents, cursing to himself the entire way.

"What's wrong?" Poseidon had also stood, his eyes alight with fear for his daughter. Percy stared right through him, into the trees that surrounded them. She let out a shuddering breath after a second and bowed her head.

"I'm sorry my lords." Zeus reached out to touch her shoulder and she backed away quickly, shivering under his touch. Head still bowed, she went to turn away from them when Ares spoke up.

"You were abused as a child." his voice was surprisingly soft, but Percy stiffened, staring straight at the god as the fire in his eyes softened. Every god around the fire froze, staring at Persephone. She shook off their gazes, shrugging.

"Others had it worse." she sat down roughly, leaning against a log and staring into the fire, eyes bright with a worried color of green. "I am not afraid of my truth anymore and I will not omit pieces of me to make you more comfortable." her voice was soft, but brave, eyes blazing as she glanced back up at Ares.

"I'm not trying to start a fight with you Persephone." he stood, stretching his arms "I'm not apologizing for mentioning it though." he walked off towards where Dionysus had gone and Percy twirled the pen between her fingers, a nervous habit she had developed over the years.

"Persephone." Poseidon's voice was tight, but soft as he glanced at Zeus before kneeling down beside his daughter. Zeus backed off, watching the demigod with a surprised look in his eyes.

"What?" she turned to look at Poseidon and dark sea green eyes met light. Poseidon flinched under her gaze and she flicked her eyes down, submissively.

"Who-" he choked on the words and Percy turned her gaze away from him, uncomfortable with so many watching her. As if knowing what she was thinking, over half the gods and goddesses around the fire stood and left, leaving only Poseidon, Zeus, and Artemis behind. Artemis watched the girl from across the fire, studying her movements.

"Gabe Ugliano, my ex step father." so quiet, they had to lean in to hear. It was as if the world breathed a sigh when she said the words.

"Can you-" Zeus paused as Artemis sent him a look "Will you tell us what he did?"

He paused, "please."

"I can't." her voice was tight, eyes bright with the horrific memories that haunted her. Poseidon sat down beside her, offering comfort without being overbearing.

"Persephone," Artemis spoke up, "You do not have to tell, but I know from experience that you cannot hold this within you forever."

"He-" Percy paused, gritting her teeth and swallowing loudly "He beat me every time mom wasn't around." she paused "He knew how to hide the bruises, he knew every trick in the book." she shuddered violently and Poseidon reached out slowly, touching her arm with his fingers. Surprisingly, Percy didn't pull away.

"Come here." Poseidon opened up his arms, but not overbearing in case she didn't want the contact. A sob escaped Percy's throat and she leaned into her father, letting him wrap his arms around her. Zeus slowly stood, backing away from the fire with regret in his eyes.


End file.
